4931SRvsSDscale

COMPARISON OF LIKERT SCALE WITH SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL

Both types of scales can assess attitudes, but have different formats.

Likert (summated rating) scale

Fixed response choices (e.g., agreement or frequency)

Items concern different aspects or descriptions of target

Semantic differential

Fixed target for attitude evaluation

Items are bipolar adjectives that concern target

Example

Objective: Determine attitudes about USF

Likert

1 = Strongly disagree 4 = Slightly agree

2 = Moderately disagree 5 = Moderately agree

3 = Slightly disagree 6 = Strongly agree

1. USF is an interesting place	1 2 3 4 5 6
2. USF is a good university	1 2 3 4 5 6
3. Going to USF was a mistake on my part	1 2 3 4 5 6
4. I’m glad I’m attending USF	1 2 3 4 5 6
5. USF is a great school	1 2 3 4 5 6
6. The quality of classes at USF is poor	1 2 3 4 5 6

Semantic Differential

The following items refer to: USF

Good __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Bad

Boring __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Interesting

Weak __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Strong

Active __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Passive

Like __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Dislike

Large __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Small